Cotton-chopper.



S. L. MARTIN.

GOTTON CHOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 16, 1909.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

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SIMON L. MARTIN, OF OKLAHOMA, OKLAHOMA.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9', 1909.

Application filed July 16, 1909. Serial No. 507,910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON L. MARrIN,a citizen of the United" States,residing at Oklahoma city, in the county'of Oklahoma and State ofOklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGotton-Choppers, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to cotton-choppers in which a frame is mounted onwheels the axle of which rotates a bevel wheel, whichby means'of a bevelpinion, rotates a crank shaft, in line with the travel of the machine,the crank portion of said shaft being attached to the central portion ofthe handle of a shovel to operate the shovel, the upper; end of itshandle having but a slight lateral movement a considerable lateralmovement is given to the shovel; out and in gear mechanism beingprovided to actuate the shovel periodically, all'of which will beexplained in the specification.

The objects of my invention are to produce a strong, durable andpractical ma chine for chopping or thinning cotton. 1 accomplish theseobjects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete machine embodying myinvention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the'wheel attachment forthrowing the crank shaft out and in gear; Fig. 3 is a view inperspective of the main shaft sleeve in section; Fig. & is a perspectiveview of the shifting-bar.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several views.

Referring to the drawings, A and A designate the right and left sidesills of the frame carried by the wheels B and B; C and C designate thefront and rear end sills and D the tongue.

It is the custom to plant cotton thick in the rows and after the plantsare up and well established to chop out or remove some of the plants,thus thinning the plants of the field. My invention is to remove thesurplus plants, and to accomplish this, I

provide a shovel a having an extended handle 6, the upper end of whichpasses through a slot 0 inthe guide'plate c to contuate said shaft.

itrol theupper end of the shovel handle; the

ends of said plate a being secured to the side sills A and AC SeeFig. 1. The central portion of said shovel handle I) has an en largementb in which a journal hole 12 is provided to which journal access isobtained by said enlargement having a portion 6 cut away and riveted orbolted back in place when said handle is mounted upon the crank d of itsactuating shaft E, having its rear end journaled in the rear end sill G,its front end portion being journaled in the cross beam F, said shafthaving secured upon its front end a bevel pinion G to ac- To rotate saidpinion a bevel Wheel H is loosely mounted on the main shaft I and toprovide irregular or periodical motion of the crank shaft, and thereforeof the shovel a, the hub e of the said bevel wheel has four radial slots6 being 'equi-distant apart, and to rotate said wheel a sliding sleeve fhaving a longitudinal projection jatone end to engage said slots 6 isslidably secured upon the main shaft 1 having a pin 9 extendinglaterally therethrough and through longitudinal slots 9 in said sleevecausing it to revolve with the shaft, the said sleeve having upon itsouter end a peripheral flange f. See Figs. 1 and 3. A spiral spring h ismounted upon said main shaft and has its outer end abutting against themain shaft collar it while its inner end pressing against the outer endof the said sleeve f tends to hold the sleeve projection f in engagementwith the radial slots 6. To disengage said sleeve f from the hub e andlet the bevel Wheel H remain at rest the sleeve sliding rod i isprovided having its inner end bent at a right angle to its stem or bodymember, said bent end or member being formed into two similar, butoppositely curved fingers or prongs z" to saddle said sleeve and engageits flange f; the outer end of said sleeve sliding rod 2' has'itsupperportion flattened at i and a small pulley j secured thereon, having itsaxis vertical to the rod '0'. See Figs. 1 and 4:.

The fingers or prongs i of the sleeve sliding rod c are placed one oneach side of the sleeve f with the rod 2' above and in line of thesleeve in which position it is secured by the brace 70 having one of itsends encompass the said rod 2' and its opposite end secured to the crossbeam F, and the outer end portion 'of the said rod rests in a box 70"secured to the left side sill A. See Fig. 1. To operate the said sleevesliding rod 2', which throws the machine out of gear, a shifting deviceis provided, having, in the present case, four leg members Z projectingfrom the periphery of a disk-like band m and at right angles to the facethereof, the said leg members having feet Z turned outwardly andperforated by which means they are secured to the spokes of one of thewheels of the machine, in the present case the left Wheel B is used asbeing most convenient, axle clips being used to secure said feet to thespokes of said wheel, keyed to the main shaft. See Figs. 1 and 2. Thesaid band m has secured to its surface toward the said legs and radiallyopposite each other, wedge shaped projections 02 for the pulley j toengage at each revolution of the wheel. B. A greater or less number ofsaid projections, a, may be used depending upon the size of the mainwheels of the machine B and B, and the relative sizes of the bevel WheelH and pinion G.

The cotton-chopper is designed to be drawn by a pair of horses.

In operation, as the machine moves forward, so long as the sleeveprojection f engages the slot e of the hub e the bevel Wheel 1-1 rotateswhich causes its pinion G to rotate, also its shaft E, which by itscrank cZhaving the shovel handle Z2 secured thereon the shovel a israised, passed to the left to the position indicated by the dotted linesa then downward to the ground and slightly into the ground removingwhatever cotton and weeds may be in its path. For the shovel a tooperate continuously would remove too much of the cotton, therefore, asthe wheel B rotates the band at, and its wedge projections a contact thepulley j its supporting rod 2' is forced outward, which by means of itsfingers z" engaging the flange 7 of the sleeve 7 moving itlongitudinally releasing the engagement of its projection f -With one ofthe slots 6 of the hub 6, thus permitting the bevel wheel H, its pinionGr, its shaft E and the shovel a to remain at rest until the saidprojection f has passed to and engaged the next slot 6 in the hub c saidengagement starting in motion the bevel wheel H, the pinion G and theshovel a, which continue in operation until the next wedge projection 12contacts the pulley j and repeats the operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a cotton-chopper having a frame of side and end sills mounted uponwheels; a crank shaft in line of the travel of the machine having itsrear end journaled in the rear sill and intermediate its ends forming acrank its forward end being supported by a cross beam and having a bevelpinion secured thereon; a shovel having an extended handle with anenlargement intermediate its ends and an opening in said enlargementadapted to rest upon and be carried by said crank for the purpose ofoperating said shovel to remove surplus cotton; means for controllingthe upper end of said shovel handle; a bevel wheel H in mesh with saidpinion and loosely mounted upon the main shaft of the machine and havinga hub with radial slots therein; a longitudinally slidable sleevemounted 011 the main shaft of said machine and having upon its outer enda peripheral flange, and intermediate its ends a longitudinal slot to beengaged by av pin extending therethrough and into the main shaft torotate said sleeve in unison with said shaft the inner end of saidsleeve having a projection adapted to engage the said radial slots insaid hub to rotate the said bevel wheel; a sleeve-sliding rod having apulley laterally secured upon its outer end, its inner end being bent ata right angle and formed into fingers to engage the said flange of thesaid sleeve to operate the same, and means for reciprocating said rodfor the purposes described.

2. In a cotton-chopper having a frame of side and end sills mounted uponwheels; a crank shaft in line of the travel of the machine having itsrear end journaled in the rear sill and intermediate its ends forming acrank its forward end being supported by a cross beam and having a bevelpinion secured thereon; a shovel having an extended handle with anenlargement intermediate its ends and an opening in said enlargementadapted to rest upon and be carried by said crank for the purpose ofoperating said shovel to remove surplus cotton; means for controllingthe upper end of said shovel handle; a bevel wheel in mesh with saidpinion and loosely mounted upon the main shaft of the machine and havinga hub with radial slots therein; a longitudinally slidable sleevemounted on the main shaft of said machine and having upon its outer enda peripheral flange, and intermediate its ends a longitudinal slot to beengaged by a pin extending therethrough and into the main shaft torotate said sleeve in unison with said shaft the inner end of saidsleeve having a projection adapted to engage the said radial slots insaid hub to rotate the said bevel wheel; a sleeve-sliding rod having apulley laterally secured upon its outer end, its inner end being bent ata right angle and formed into fingers to engage the said flange of thesaid sleeve to operate the same; a disk-like band having peripheral legsat right angles to said band, said legs having perforated feet forsecuring them to one of the Wheels of the machine, said band having uponits outer face Wedge-like projections adapted to contact With saidpulley to operate said sleeve-sliding rod, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SIMON L. MARTIN.

Witnesses F. L. BRANIGER, ROBT. CHOWNING.

